Instagram introduces ‘harsher’ nudity and harrassment rules

The popular image sharing app Instagram issued a new set of rules, designed to cut down on nudity and pornography.

The media claim this is the biggest change to user guidelines since Instagram was acquired by the social media giant Facebook back in 2012, and it will help clarify rules which seemed to please no one: parents and critics said they were too lax, while users complained they were overreaching and enforced with double standards.

And then there’s the period issue, which honestly I have no clue where to put, but I guess some would say that perfectly fits the ‘double standards’ complaint.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the photo-sharing app framed the changes as a tougher, less polite stance on harassment and pornography.

"In the old guidelines, we would say ‘don’t be mean,'" said Nicky Jackson Colaco, director of public policy for Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. "Now we’re actively saying you can’t harass people. The language is just stronger."

“For example, Instagram’s previous guidelines asked users to be polite and respectful. The revised version is much longer and specifies that "serious threats of harm to public and personal safely aren’t allowed."

They go into more detail on what can and cannot be shared in terms of nudity:

“We know that there are times when people might want to share nude images that are artistic or creative in nature, but for a variety of reasons, we don’t allow nudity on Instagram. This includes photos, videos, and some digitally created content that show sexual intercourse, genitals, and close-ups of fully-nude buttocks. It also includes some photos of female nipples, but photos of post-mastectomy scarring and women actively breastfeeding are allowed. Nudity in photos of paintings and sculptures is OK, too.”